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If You Count Your Chickens Before They've Hatched, They Won't Lay An Egg

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Thanks for all the comments I'm hoping to push for the top six again next season, and without any European distractions, I hoping we can replicate (or better!) our fifth position from two seasons ago.

Hope you're all having an enjoyable festive period! I've managed to wrangle an hour of free time, so thought I'd use it to catch up on the forums, as unfortunately, I probably won't get enough time to get a decent FM session going today.

Just to give you a bit more of an insight to why I turned Werden Bremen down; I know on paper, Werder are a bigger club side than Fulham, and that financially they are in a slightly better position too, however, there was no big attraction for me. Firstly, I don't really have any affiliation with the club in real life; I've never really followed them and there is nothing in their history that interests or intrigues me. Secondly, their squad is in a worse state than what I've already got at Fulham. Fair enough, I'd probably have a bit of money to rectify this, but I doubt we'd achieve Champions League qualification in the first season. Also, if I'd left Fulham, it's unlikely I'd be able to take my star players with me; I really want to follow the development of John Itubu and the two Egyptians, so I think I owe it to them to have another season developing them at Fulham before moving on. That being said, if a 'too good to refuse offer' came in from one of my favoured clubs, I would definitely consider it.

On a side note, I was fortunate enough to get a couple of PS3 games (FIFA 12 and F1, if you're interested) as gifts yesterday, so even though I had some FM time planned over the forthcoming days, it looks like my attention may be split somewhat before I go back to work on the 3rd. I may need to pull in a FM all-nighter to keep my hand in!

We have an OTF F1 Championship over in, well, OTF if you fancy it. It's sponsored by Tesco Finest beef.

Cheers Nobby. I'm not very good though! And I'm not sure I can commit to anything regular, but I'll certainly take a look

Originally Posted by ShyBaldBuddhist

Unlucky on the end of season form. Looked like you were on for a good season. Disappointed not to be seeing Amer at the cottage next year too.

I'm actually really annoyed with myself. I could have organised the transfer a lot earlier, but wanted to see my budgets for the forthcoming season before committing to anything. Due to my stalling, other teams become interested in him, and snatched him away from right under my nose. That may be it for my Egyptian signings, I can't afford anyone one else now!

In what was a fairly routine tournament, the trophy was finally won by Germany in a thrilling final against The Netherlands, where all five goals where scored in 27 minutes either side of half time. 'The Special One' stepped down from his England coaching role after failing to get past the Quarter-Final, and has now been replaced by former Manchester United defender, Henning Berg!

It's pretty obvious that we won't be troubling the major teams in the title race this season, but my main objective will be to try and get us back into the Europa League. Outside of the top four (Man Utd, Man City, Arsenal and Chelsea), there's a group of four/five sides all capable of fighting for a Europa League place; we're one of these teams, but will face competition from Liverpool, Blackburn, Stoke and Tottenham. Alternatively, a good cup run would suffice, but I'd much rather have a steady league performance, but without the post-Xmas horror shows that have plagued us in the previous two seasons.

As much as I would have liked to bring in some big names over the summer, I had to make do with who I could afford. Top of my shopping list was a new striker, someone I hoped would be able to support John Itubu, and share the goalscoring burden. In fact, I ended up signing two strikers; Francisco Jose should turn out a bargain at only £1m, after Inter Milan offloaded him to us, and Andy Carroll should still offer a aerial threat despite being the wrong side of 30 now. Raymond Gardiner will also be in consideration for a starting place, as he's a midfielder who has to creativity to fashion plenty of chances for us.

Tactical Outlook

This is my initial formation and team instructions:

I'm going to persevere with the formation I used last season. There's been a few tweaks to the individual player roles, but the impetus is still the same. I'm hoping we'll still be difficult to beat, but hopefully, the new signings will make us slightly more prolific in front of goal.

Agree with HotChocolate - £1m is a steal for a player with that talent!

Originally Posted by buzz2k7

How did you get him for 1 Million?
Im useless at getting bargain tranfer fees :/

Originally Posted by Pangaea

1 million for a guy like that is impressive. Did you have sensitive information on the club's owners?

Signing José was far too easy; Inter Milan offered him to me for £1.5m, I got my scout to do a report, and he came back saying we could get him for £1m. Cue, £1m bid, accepted by Inter, and now he's a South London resident. To be fair, Inter really didn't need him, as he's been out on loan for the previous four seasons, never actually making a full appearance in the famous black and blue stripes.

After the window shut, I also signed another striker on the cheap. I'm not sure if you've heard of Wayne Rooney?

Not too bad for someone who's just about to turn 35. He's still in the England picture too, so there's a chance he may add to the record breaking number of caps and goals for his country.

Two great offers from two clubs I admire. The Roma job would definitely be a big step-up from Fulham, and it would be a great opportunity to manage outside of England, however, the Liverpool offer is even more impressive. That, and the fact that they are the club I support in real life, can only mean one thing; pack your bags, we're all off to the North-West (and I can afford to take my Egyptians with me ).

Two great offers from two clubs I admire. The Roma job would definitely be a big step-up from Fulham, and it would be a great opportunity to manage outside of England, however, the Liverpool offer is even more impressive. That, and the fact that they are the club I support in real life, can only mean one thing; pack your bags, we're all off to the North-West (and I can afford to take my Egyptians with me ).

All the best at Liverpool.

I could never manage my club. If Yeovil came in for me I would decline - the losses hurt a lot more, despite being just a game. My keyboard would get thrown out of the window for one.

I could never manage my club. If Yeovil came in for me I would decline - the losses hurt a lot more, despite being just a game. My keyboard would get thrown out of the window for one.

Cheers fellas

Normally I wouldn't manage them either, simply because it would distress me if I couldn't achieve any success with them. However, Man Utd have now won 25 league titles in my game (Liverpool did win the 2012/13 title though), and someone needs to put a stop to that!! I've signed a five year deal with them, and for the sake of keeping my interest in the save going, it's unlikely I will outstay my welcome at Anfield, so it's going to be a case of trying to upset United's apple-cart, build some strong foundations, then pass the baton on to someone else. Well, that's the plan anyway, it could all go horribly wrong, and I'll turn out to be the 'New Roy Hodgson'.

Oh, hang-on, I was the 'New Roy Hodgson' at Fulham. I hope that's not an omen

Congrats on the big move, hope you have some great success at your favourite club!

Originally Posted by B.W.G

Good move,hopefully you can shake off the new Roy Hodgson tag off otherwise you'll be out of a job come January

I hope so too! But to be fair to Woy, he did his best, there was so much going on at the club with all the off-field sagas, that it was never going to be easy. I'm sure King Kenny standing in the shadows whispering sweet nothings into the owners ears didn't help matters much either

I hope so too! But to be fair to Woy, he did his best, there was so much going on at the club with all the off-field sagas, that it was never going to be easy. I'm sure King Kenny standing in the shadows whispering sweet nothings into the owners ears didn't help matters much either

Barclays Premier League: Qualify for the Champions League (Won't be judged at the moment)UEFA Europa League: Reach the Final (Won't be judged at the moment)FA Cup: Semi FinalCarling Cup: Not important (Knocked out already)

I'm really up for the task of making Liverpool the biggest club in England again, but it certainly won't be an overnight transition. Even though the squad is a lot better than the 13th league place suggests, there are a lot of golden-oldies coming to the end of their careers. From the players left behind from the Alex McLeish regime, I've inherited a 38 year-old Pepe Reina, a couple of 34 year-olds in Cristian Ansaldi and João Moutinho, and Luis Suarez, who is 33. Aaron Ramsey and Rafinha are probably the pick of the bunch at the moment, and my initial task will be to set up a tactic that gets the best out of these two quality midfielders, and push us back the table towards the top six. Looking at the youth team, there does seem to be some potential with Sam van der Meulen being the brightest spark, but none of which are ready for immediate first team action. For now, it will be a case of making do, and seeing who's available in January. I've got the money to spend, but do not want to overpay unless absolutely necessary.

I'm hoping there might be a new stadium on the horizon soon though. We can't play at Anfield forever!

Originally Posted by Pangaea

Sorry to see you move to Liverpool just when things were clicking in Fulham.

To be fair to Fulham, if the start of the season had been better, and we were pushing the top four, then I might have considered saying. Unfortunately, this wasn't the case, and the draw to Liverpool was too big to resist. They'll be ok though, they've just replaced me with Gareth Southgate!

Originally Posted by DazRTaylor

Strange to see only average Junior Coaching...

Not ideal, but we should be able to improve this.

Originally Posted by abulezz

van der Meulen is going to be a star for sure - I can sense your excitement to get your Liverpool career started Good luck!

Originally Posted by psychonaut

All the best with Liverpool. I see McLeish was working his usual "magic"!

Thanks abulezz and psychonaut. That's McLeish second sacking in the past two seasons after being replaced at Tottenham last year.

I've just realised we don't have one defensively minded midfielder in the squad, so this may be the stem of the problems at the club. I've got no-one who can play as a ball-winner, let alone someone who can play the 'Makelele role', so roll on January. Until then, we'll have to ride it out with a 'we'll score one more than you do' approach!

As an Evertonian, it's through gritted teeth I wish you good luck at Liverpool

Originally Posted by SnakeXe

Good luck! Worth looking at a 5-man defence until you can pick up the defensive midfielder? Means you can have suicidally attacking fullbacks, which I absolutely love

Thanks for the comments

I've actually started with a 4-2-3-1 formation, with a deep-lying playmaker (defend) and central midfielder (support) as the two men in the middle of the park. I did consider going with three centre-backs, but would have had to sacrifice my wingers to keep some kind of coherency to the formation, so decided against it in the end. I will be aiming to go 4-5-1 (with a winger and inside forward on the flanks) once I've got the squad to be able to do so.

In all honesty, not the start I was hoping for. I obviously underestimated the task in hand, as no way did I think it would take six games to register my first win as Liverpool boss. The draws at home to Leicester and Cardiff were both pitiful displays, but nowhere near as bad as the performances we put in away to West Ham and Chelsea. Thankfully, the win against Espanyol was the tonic we needed to turn the tide, and we followed this up by beating our rivals, Man Utd, to secure my first league win at the club, and put a huge dent in their title hunt.

Generally, things are now on an upwards track, with the team gaining confidence, and putting some points on the board. It did look a bit scary at one stage, when we slipped down to 17th and were only outside the relegation zone on goal difference. With £44.5m to spend, a few new faces will be joining in the January window as I look to freshen up the squad. A solid holding midfielder will be the main target, but I wouldn't mind another striker and another wide-man which will give me a stronger bench to play with when things aren't going our way.

Wow, it's all happened in here! Don't blame you for moving especially as it's the team you support. Still more than enough time to qualify for a European place although not much chance of a title challenge I think. Disappointed to see Forest in the relegation zone .

Wow, it's all happened in here! Don't blame you for moving especially as it's the team you support. Still more than enough time to qualify for a European place although not much chance of a title challenge I think. Disappointed to see Forest in the relegation zone .

No work for me this week, and I've had a solid 12 hours playing time over the last day No chance of a title challenge this season, but I'll be aiming for the top four next year. All really depends on how generous the chairman is in the summer, as the squad will need at least another three players for us to sustain a challenge.

Forest are yo-yoing a bit at the moment, but there's plenty of time for a rescue job. I've just beat them 2-0 though, sorry

Ooof, thats a rough start to your Liverpool career - still, it looks like you've righted the ship. Topping your Europa League is also a plus!

Originally Posted by HotChocolate

Steady progress, as abu said, well done topping the Euro group. Could be a chance of silverware?

Possibly, although winning the Europa League is pretty tough. Depends on how serious the other major teams take the tournament.

Originally Posted by Pangaea

Look on the bright side. Liverpool are in Europe.

Originally Posted by DazRTaylor

Something else that makes FM unrealistic?

Good job I've got a sense of humour! I suppose I need one to support Liverpool

Originally Posted by cerud

Yikes! Tottenham's having a bit of trouble!!!

They're in serious danger of being relegated. David Moyes only lasted five months in job before being sacked!

Originally Posted by deltablue

Still can turn it around a bit.

Originally Posted by City2000

Big move to Liverpool, good luck! Looks like a bit of work is needed with the squad.

I'll be happy with a top six finish, strengthen the squad over the summer, then aim for the top four next season. I'm going to have to get rid of several 'dinosaurs', which will lower to wage bill considerably, but does mean it may take a while for the new squad to gel together.

A run of twelve games unbeaten in the league pushed us back up the table and in contention for Europa League qualification, but the season soon fizzled out, as we only managed to win one of our final nine games, leaving us well behind Fulham in fifth place. This is the third season in a row that the team I've managed have had a shocking end to the season; I seriously need to review how to keep the momentum right up to the very last day, as this is, quite simply, not good enough. As a team, it looks like we have some serious motivational issues, with the players able to up their game and put in great performances against teams such as Man Utd and Chelsea, but don't seem to turn up against the likes of Wigan and West Ham. Too many big egos, who may find themselves in the reserves soon enough!

The Europa League and FA Cup performances were nothing to write home about either. Drawing the Russian champions, Zenit St Petersburg, in the First Knockout Round of the Europa League was pretty bad luck, but I still expected us to go through. We played out a solid 0-0 in Russia, before allowing them to score an 88th minute away goal at Anfield to knock us out. Very frustrating! Our defeat to Cardiff in the FA Cup was nothing short of dismal, and completely what we deserved.

There's loads of money in the bank, helped mostly by the chairman's frequent cash injections. His latest investment of £53m means that I will have a decent transfer kitty to play with over the summer. The improvements to Anfield should be completed over the summer, so we should start the season with a 50k capacity too.

This squad is too old, too slow and too complacent. It's disturbing that our best player, Angel Di María, is 33, so we mustn't rely on him for much longer, as he surely must be coming to the end of his career. Even though I signed two new midfielders in January, major reinforcements will still be required in the summer. A replacement for Reina in goal will be a high priority, as will another pacy striker. Hernández certainly still has the ability to bang in 20 goals a season, but when he got injured, the back-ups in the squad didn't cut the mustard at all.

Other News

Kingstonian - Missed out on the BSP playoffs by two points, finishing 6th in the table.

What a total shambles! We managed to beat the top seeds, South Korea, both home and away, but still conspired to finish third in the group behind a surprisingly good Iranian side. In hindsight, it was the two draws against Iraq that cost us the most, as with those extra four points, we would have finished second in the group. The fact that those two games were the only matches that Iraq took some points from, makes it even more of a bitter pill to swallow.

So that means we have to face the UAE in the playoff. This really is a do or die affair; win, and we qualify for the World Cup. Lose, and it will disappointment all round, and most likely the sack for me too. September will be a huge month, for both me, and the Australian national side!

I'm surprised - Abel Hernandez looks quite poor compared to how he was on my game at 32/33 (he was at Leverkusen when I was managing in Germany). I guess if he's still doing the business it doesn't matter!

Cheers, although I'm sure I was destined to finish below Fulham I'm pleased to have qualified for Europe, but the Europa League won't be a priority next season as I'll definitely be taking the opportunity to rotate the squad in these games.

Originally Posted by Nobby_McDonald

Should have mentioned before... we race every Monday and Wednesday night but it's entirely up to each racer how often they race.

Horrible going in the group stages, hopefully you will save yourself in the playoffs.

Originally Posted by roganp

Probably deserve the sack if you end up losing to the UAE, but I'm sure you'll go through without any real problems.

Originally Posted by rancer890

^^WHS.

Good luck with Australia though in the playoff.

Originally Posted by B.W.G

Good recovery job with Liverpool although your cup performances seem a bit concerning but you should turn that around seeing as it's you

Good luck with Australia in the playoffs in which I do expect you to go through

On paper, we should beat UAE hands down, but going on current form, this is the type of team we'll play total garbage against. If we don't get through, and I don't get sacked, I'll resign anyway. There isn't much of an incentive to stay much longer even if we do make the World Cup, so I don't want to spend all of 2022 twiddling my thumbs in pointless friendlies.

Originally Posted by SnakeXe

I'm surprised - Abel Hernandez looks quite poor compared to how he was on my game at 32/33 (he was at Leverkusen when I was managing in Germany). I guess if he's still doing the business it doesn't matter!

He's certainly not in the 'World Class' bracket of strikers, but he's still able enough (or should I say Abel enough ). He's got a 0.55 goals per game ratio for Liverpool, so he's certainly no mug, but as I'm on the look out for younger, pacier striker, he may need to play second fiddle next season.

A decent recovery with Liverpool, but as you say you should probably be looking to head on up the table next year. With that financial backing though, I'm putting money on comfortable top four next season!

A decent recovery with Liverpool, but as you say you should probably be looking to head on up the table next year. With that financial backing though, I'm putting money on comfortable top four next season!

Originally Posted by Raware

Nicely turned around but I'm sure the Fulham fans loved seeing you finish below them . Not next season though, as EvilDave said, with that kind of money a spot in the top four should be possible.

Yeah, we should be aiming for the top four. It won't be straight forward though, as Chelsea, Man City, Man Utd and Arsenal have had it locked out for the previous four seasons, so we'll need to break their stranglehold. Thankfully, I do have good financial backing, which helps to balance out their Champions League revenue, which will give us a good chance.

Originally Posted by Pangaea

Arsenal were a bit good. 116 goals. Damn!

Back into Europe. Well done.

Arsenal were pure quality, weren't they?! They've got probably the best striker in the world in their squad, a Nigerian regen called Dele Martins, who single-handedly won them to the Premier League title. Last season, he scored 43 goals in 30 matches, winning the Ballon d'Or too.

Originally Posted by o JaY

Good recovery, but looks like tough going for Australia - you should be able to win the play-off, though

Cheers o JaY, it's all been a bit of a disaster so far, but at least we're not out of it yet. Hopefully we'll reach the World Cup!

Fanastic read on your career, really like the way you structure your updates. Congratulations on getting the Liverpool job. A job you thoroughly deserved with your great management of your previous teams. The back-to-back promotion.

It's really interesting seeing how the game changes in-game. Modric to Man City! Also, Liverpool can't get rid of Glen Johnson on my save and on your save he sold for 27million!

Year Winners Runner-Up Hosts
------------------------------------------------------
2013 Mexico United States United States
2015 Mexico United States United States
2015 Mexico United States United States
2017 United States Mexico United States
2019 Mexico El Salvador United States

Glad you enjoyed the summaries; it kept me out of mischief for a couple of hours

Originally Posted by dkpark51

Fanastic read on your career, really like the way you structure your updates. Congratulations on getting the Liverpool job. A job you thoroughly deserved with your great management of your previous teams. The back-to-back promotion.

It's really interesting seeing how the game changes in-game. Modric to Man City! Also, Liverpool can't get rid of Glen Johnson on my save and on your save he sold for 27million!

Thanks dkpark51, although the footballing world hasn't moved on that much really; the leagues are still being dominated by the teams you would expect to be challenging. I'll probably do something similar after 20 seasons where I would expect the changes to be more severe.

Originally Posted by DazRTaylor

I am not surprised with the amount of sheer talent Argentina has produced in your save. In mine, my four best players are all Argentinian - they are all NewGens and are all world superstars.

Argentina always churns out great talent in real life too, so I'm not overly surprised that the FM world is dominated by them. Although there's not so many with the surname Llama, that's pretty original!

With the amount of money I've got at my disposal, it would be disappointing if we don't finish in the top four this season. Even though we're not that far behind Arsenal, Man Utd or Man City talent-wise, I think it's unlikely we'll challenge for the title this season, using this term to build for a main title push next year. I'm not that bothered about the Europa League, and I'll be using the opportunity to give the reserves some game time. As long as we reach the knockout rounds, I'm sure that will be enough to pacify the board.

The bulk of the money spent was on three players; Eric Diallo is the strong, pacy striker that we need to spearhead our attack, Roberto Poison has all the attributes required to play the Inside Forward role on the left wing, and I went back to Fulham to sign my former-Egyptian 'keeper, Mohamed Ismail. I'm hoping these signings will all add some much needed pace, vigour and quality that the side was lacking last season. In addition to these three marquee signings, I signed four other youngsters who should come to fruition over the next couple of years.

Tactical Outlook

This is my initial formation and team instructions:

After the signing of Poison, I can now finally set the team up in a way that I think we bring the best results for us. A fluid 4-5-1 should get the most out of the attacking talent I have available to me, but with the inclusion of an anchorman, we should be pretty sound at the back too. I may also decide to push the defensive line up further, to contain the opposition in their own half, allowing us to dictate the pace of the game.

I quite like the look of Erica Diallo, Drogba-esque. Should be a fine player to lead the line.

Originally Posted by Pangaea

Some excellent buys there with the future ahead of them. Good luck.

Slim chance, but the Diallos aren't brothers, are they?

I hoping the signings settle in well. On paper they all looked pretty solid, but by bringing Africans and South Americans to Europe always has an element of risk involved.

The Diallos aren't brothers, unfortunately. The defender's from Guinea, and the striker's from Ivory Coast. Actually, thinking about it, I'm not sure I've ever seen regen siblings before; perhaps this should be something that is introduced in the future.

Originally Posted by HotChocolate

Zonal marking. You're doomed. Best of luck

Thanks HC. I've always found zonal works best with a talented fluid team, as when players move out of their natural positions, the next nearest team-mate picks up the opposition. However, in some matches, I still man mark certain individuals if I feel they pose an exceptional risk to our gameplan, so all bases are covered.

My thoughts too, but I suppose we're not at any more of a disadvantage than the other Premier League teams; they've all got to play three games in three days too. Will certainly push the squad to the limits though.

Ah, that's good then! I wouldn't have been pleased if you were one of a select few that had it.

Talking about weird fixtures, in my game, the last game of the season was moved from Saturday to the Wednesday before (everyones game) reason: Wrexham (who were in my league) were in the Welsh FA Cup Final which was to be played on the Saturday, so let me get this right, they moved a whole entire league of fixtures for the FA Welsh Cup final? Seriously? It made me laugh when I realized.